Bend Like the Grass

Abstract

"Most importantly, though, I see in Rukmani’s character the opportunity to revisit ecofeminist theorizing about the relationship between rural women of the global South—and India in particular—and the environment. Rukmani and her husband are rice farmers and her relationship with nature, like his, is thus mediated through their labour. Through the act of gardening Rukmani develops the type of closeness with the land represented in early ecofeminist writing on the body and spirituality. At the same time, her acute dependence on the land for survival reveals a vulnerability that troubles the celebration of this closeness. In the end, however, Rukmani does favour this precarious direct relationship with nature over the alienation of city life. Through her adoption of a young boy, the novel ultimately forwards a land-based community ethic that emphasizes connection with the more-than-human world."(pg 1)